Stargate: Dark Frontier 2x07 A Small Problems
by Lone-ranger1
Summary: An impending disaster looms over Atlantis, a shocking revelation that will force the hand of inexperienced leaders. Tempers will boil, words will cut, and the choice of bloodshed or gentle manslaughter will have to be made.
1. Chapter 1

**Stargate: Dark Frontier**

**Season 2**

**Episode 7 – A Small Problem(s)  
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_380 Days IHO_

_72 Days AOI_

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For information on season 1, go to

http(COLON)/sg-darkfrontier(DOT)wikia(DOT)com/wiki/Stargate(COLON)_Dark_Frontier_Wiki

**Previously on Dark Frontier:** _The search for living ancients or their technology in Hoag's Object has yielded a stunning result. Aleron Centaurus does not know what to make of it, but he continues to live on._

_But there's a growing disaster coming, and Atlantis will have to make one of the hardest decisions it's ever been faced with. What do you do when both choices lead to death?  
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**A/N: **This Episode marks a new beginning for me. One: I have changed my writing style somewhat. I thank SBZ for her clarification with many things, she rocks and you should totally check out "The Way" series and "No Unwounded Soldiers"

Second, instead of my typical writing out the whole episode and then posting, I'm going to be posting chapters as I write them. It's easier for me in the long run and there ARE 3 more seasons worth of story to go. (Yes i do have it planned :P)

This means updates will be random and intermittent, but have a more constant flow. Maybe even faster should my muse be stronger. It's much easier on me but in the end turns out to be pretty much the same. I thank all my fans for sticking with me and yes, this story does deserve an ending after such hard work :)

To be honest, the following IS unbetaed, but the ideas and story itself were conceptualized with the help of Neela, Choo1701, and IceMenace :) My warmest thanks go to them all :D

So without further adieu, "A Small Problem(s)"

* * *

**Daniel Jackson:** You're kidding me!

**Carson Beckett:** Not in the slightest. You haven't noticed because they've been keeping it quiet, and most of them are the laborers who stay away from command levels.

**Teyla Emmagan:** I have noticed a few, but a far cry from what you say, Carson. I'm shocked and appalled that we missed this.

**Carson Beckett:** Yes well, it's happened. And in two months we're going to be so bone dry on supplies, we'll have the fear of scurvy on our hands!

**John Sheppard:** Scurvy? Isn't that a pirate's disease?

**Carson Beckett:** Aye, y'have no idea how fitting that comment is.

* * *

"Would you be willing to wager something on that Ronon?"

Ronon smiled, and looked over at John who walked on the other side of Teyla sandwiching her as they walked down the hallway to the gym. "Who'd you bet on? Come on, don't lie."

Rubbing his chin, John studied both warriors. They looked expectantly at him. "Hmmm… See, if I say Ronon, Teyla beats my ass. If I say Teyla, Ronon beats my ass."

Teyla snickered and shoved John in the ribs, a smile on her face. "I would _never_ assault you, John." A devious grin crossed her face. "At least not without warning you beforehand."

Ronon chuckled and pumped his fists. It was a good day already.

* * *

"How'd you do this?" Reyna asked as she examined Alicia's bruised fist.

Alicia motioned to Aleron off to the side as she sat on the infirmary bed. "Eagle man here ducks right when I swing at him. Hit a wall."

"Eagle man?"

Sighing, Alicia explained. "His name. It means Eagle."

Reyna smirked, and then raised an eyebrow. "I told you not to fight him. He's fast. And strong."

Wincing as Reyna rubbed the bruised knuckle, then put an icepack on top, Alicia huffed. "And a freaking psychic – I swear he knows where I'm going to punch before I even do it."

Turning to Aleron who simply looked around idly. Reyna worried about how he'd dropped from the radar except to spar or eat. He just seemed…_detached._ "His reaction time is a lot faster than ours biologically speaking. He told me that part of it's just his training but I'm not so sure."

"Hrmph, yeah he tried to sell me on that too, remember?" Alicia made a mocking face. "Meditate my ass. How is sleeping supposed to speed you up?" Alicia took hold of the icepack and began to flex her fingers about. She noticed Aleron looking at a table with a tablet on it. "Thanks, Rey. We still up for tennis tonight?"

Reyna smirked and stretched her shoulders. "If you're still alive - sure."

Alicia rolled her eyes and called out. "Hey Aleron!" When he didn't look back, instead just staring down at the table, Alicia got worried. "Aleron?"

* * *

The small gym served well as a private sparring room, the floors covered with soft mats in case one fell to the ground with more speed than just gravity. John had just finished his stretching on the floor and looked up at Teyla. "So Jackson didn't wanna come?"

Teyla shook her head and offered her hand to John. "He does his own training in private with Ronon."

"Why?"

Ronon across the room chuckled. "He sucks!"

"He is _learning."_ Teyla frowned at Ronon and pulled John up to his feet. "And he has much more important things to do than beat another man senseless." Glaring at Ronon, Teyla fought her smile at Ronon's cheeky grin. "And whatever suggestive comment you may have should remain within you."

John dusted his hands off and shrugged. "I was just gonna say something about 'private lessons' but I guess that's fair."

Teyla threw her hand back to John in a smack, and then snickered. "_That_ is a personal matter." Looking at both men, Teyla knew they were ready and eager. "Be gentle, I have not had the same practice as the two of you in recent months."

All three got into their combat stances, but the radio on John's belt chirped suddenly. He held up his hand and listened.

_"Security team to the Infirmary! Security team to infirmary!"_

It was Reyna. John ripped the radio off his belt. "Rey, It's Sheppard. What's going on?"

Both Teyla and Ronon lost the smiles on their faces. Reyna's voice was worried. "_It's Aleron! He and Alicia came just for a quick check and he went nova after they left! Alicia tried to stop him but he attacked her – he said something about Sam!"_

John tensed slightly, but looking up to Ronon he felt reassured. "Got it, we'll deal with it."

Teyla nodded and began to move to the door where Ronon was already storming his way out. "Come John! I think Sam's in her lab with Rafaela."

John quickly caught up to the two Pegasus natives, but he held back Teyla. "Wait, you shouldn't go." Seeing Teyla's irate face, he explained. "No no no, I know you can handle yourself. But you're in charge around here and if anything happened, it's not just Torren or Jackson."

Teyla opened her mouth, but then clenched it. It was a good argument. "I've been a _leader_ since before I met you. I always sought out threats to stop them when I was the leader of my people."

"This is different." John continued walking, but he kept trying to see Ronon up ahead. "Your people could live together without you around. You know as well as I do the people on this city still hate each other." A harsh fact, but also truth.

Visibly bothered, Teyla turned away from John. "I've never run from problems, John. You know this."

John gulped and nodded. "Trust me, Teyla. Leading by example is good, but not when it's a minor issue." He motioned over his shoulder. "Let us deal with Ally, you just make sure no one decides to follow in his footsteps."

John nodded quickly and turned not giving Teyla a chance to argue. She grit her teeth and hissed slightly. Something told Teyla that soon she'd have to warn John about an impeding ass-whooping.

* * *

Dan came in with a low swing, a hit to the kidneys always stunned an opponent. So when Aleron flexed his body like a dancer and rolled around the strike, he had no defence. _"Shit!"_

Aleron spun around and dropped his elbow onto Dan's backside, the small hallway had three guards he'd incapacitated already and Dan was only a minor inconvenience. The Marine Captain cried out as he was flung into the wall and promptly knocked out by an unbooted kick to the face. Aleron idly enjoyed having only one boot thanks to his fight with Alicia, but there was little that could stop him now.

He continued his run forwards, the transporter had dropped him in the right tower and now he just had to find her. Aleron could see the world flowing past him at a snail's pace, his heart pounding from the exertion. The back of his cotton shirt stuck from the sweat and his eyepatch itched. His muscles burned from overpressure, if he didn't release he'd be likely to tear something.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Aleron didn't bother to check around it and simply charged past. He wasn't too surprised to see Ronon charging at him from the opposite end, right where her Lab was.

Ronon would present a threat – on any other day. The Satedan raised his particle magnum and fired.

Aleron leaped to the side, and kicked off the wall to gain height. The Satedan tried to track, but Aleron curled his body forward into a dive and roll.

Unlike the others, Ronon had the speed to react. Feeling their arms connect as Aleron came up in a parry, Aleron screamed. "_Let me through, Irrumator!"_

Ronon leapt back and spun around with his elbow, Aleron was right there to block it and they again spun in their parry. "The hell's wrong with you?"

Aleron didn't answer and instead threw a pair of punches before spinning low with his booted foot. Ronon barely noticed that Aleron only had one shoe as he blocked and dodged. "_Meretrix Carter fallacius est!"_

Shocked at Aleron's sudden ferocious attack, Ronon lifted his knee and caught the Olim in the chest. "Stop it!"

Aleron shrugged the hit off like nothing and instead jumped up as he grabbed Ronon's head. "_Hercaleas!"_

Ronon's curse was muffled as the Olim flipped over him using his own body as leverage, and pulled him back to the ground. He'd never seen Aleron try anything so dramatic before and struggled to take him down too. Instead, Aleron landed on his feet and continued the throw, literally flinging Ronon ahead and into the corridor just as John charged in – just as Aleron had planned.

John raised his gun, but Ronon crashed into him sending them both to the floor. Aleron quickly charged ahead, uncaring that neither was unconscious, not when he was this close.

As he charged towards the door, ready to tear it open with his bare hands if needed, it suddenly opened and a flurry of particle shots streamed out.

* * *

It was too much, and Aleron took three hits to the chest as he crashed to the ground. Despite the hard hit, he still clawed forward. _"Lupa, vos falsidicus meretricis! Vos iuguolo mihi susicivus mihi dedecus..."_

Sam was in shock, Rafaela right next to her holding a large wrench to defend herself.

Aleron looks like blood rage incarnate, his normally white skin had gone a deep puce, his eye bulging. Even more shocking, he continued to struggle against the stunning effects of the particle rifle. Both women looked at John and Ronon as they got up, groaning in pain. "What happened?"

John shook the shock off his face, and looking down he could see Aleron finally succumb to the stunning effects. He'd only ever seen Ronon resist stun weapons like that before. "You're askin' me?"

* * *

"How bad is it? Rey won't give me a mirror."

John scratched his temple in confusion. He wasn't sure how to reply. "Did he kick you?" They were in the suddenly full hospital ward, and Alicia held an icepack to her face.

Alicia groaned as she squeezed the pack. "No. the bastard threw his shoe at me." She hopped off and tried to hide her face. John couldn't help but smirk slightly at the boot tread imprint. "I tried to stun him, but he kicked his shoe off and nailed me. They don't teach you _that_ in CQC."

"Haven't watched Austin Powers?"

Alicia pulled a face. "_Eww..._ No. I saw twenty minutes of the first and left." Looking to the dozen or so security officers who'd been assaulted by the enraged Olim, Alicia turned to John. "What happened?"

"I was hoping _you _knew."

Alicia shook her head, and then said. "Where's Dan? I heard he got his ass kicked too."

John sighed, really not liking where this was all heading to. "Him and half the city."

* * *

Laura had taken no chances. There was no telling what Aleron was capable of, and she watched as Sam entered the brig and looked at him. Aleron was seated in the center of the well fortified cell, his arms around his knees. Laura thought he almost looked vulnerable.

Sam moved forward, and excused the two Traveler guards around the cell. Laura remained at the door, watching as her commanding officer tried to find out what Aleron wanted with her.

"I take it you wanted to talk with me. Next time you could just ask.

Laura kept quiet, merely watching as Sam tried to get Aleron to talk since he hadn't said a word since waking up.

"You attacked fifteen people to get to me. That's impressive, and you obviously wanted to say _something._ So, say it. Explain to me why we shouldn't just leave you here if you're going to be violent."

Laura was almost convinced he wouldn't say anything, but Aleron's voice was hoarse and aggressive. "The violent ones are you. You stand there and pretend to be honorable. You're nothing but a _falsidicus meretricis. _Kill me or let me leave. I have nothing more to say to you."

Laura had picked up a little bit of latin from Daniel, mostly just because she couldn't think of anything else to do in her role, and decided to do like Chuck and try and learn something obscure. She was a little surprised at Aleron's words.

Sam had learned some Ancient, and understood it as well. She didn't let it bother her though and simply replied. "Well, then I guess we have nothing to talk about. I'll see you when I see you."

Sam turned and motioned to Laura to leave. The forcefields in the cell would hold Aleron, even an Olim couldn't break through that. Laura shut the door behind her and said. "He's pissed. Any idea why?"

Shrugging, Sam shook her head. "Not a darned clue. I think maybe we should ask around. Figure it out." She smiled and nodded to Laura. "Keep an eye on him, I want a rotating guard. If he needs the washroom…" Sam paused, then finished. "Bring lots of guns."

* * *

"Well?"

Daniel was cornered, he hated having an office with only one entrance and few hiding spots, especially since it was glass lined. "I have no clue. At least not officially."

John stepped closer and put his hands on Daniel's desk menacingly. "He went straight for Sam; He could have killed every single person between him and her _including_ me and Ronon. You've known her the longest so I know there's more going on if you're not that angry."

"Who says I'm not angry?" Daniel challenged. "Maybe I just hide it because there's nothing I can do about it. Sam's fine, the guards will heal, and nobody was killed."

"I don't believe you."

An impasse. Daniel grit his teeth, and calmly said. "I don't know John. I'm shocked that he did this, but without an explanation for why, it's kind of hypocritical to get angry at him."

"_Bullshit!" _John pushed off the desk and stomped around. Daniel hadn't seen John like this ever. He turned back to Daniel. "Something's up. Something made him snap. He's been pissed ever since that whole 'Olim is a lie' thing, but he kept it together. Something or _someone_ caused him to do this."

"The straw that broke the camel's back?" Daniel suggested. John simply glared at him. "Okay, I'll try and find out what's going on, but maybe you should trace his footsteps? I heard he was sparring with Alicia before this whole thing happened."

John sighed and sat down. He drummed his fists against the chair's armrests. "She doesn't know why he did it. They were in the infirmary and he'd gone quiet. Next thing she knows he takes off, she tries to stop him, and he boots her in the face."

Daniel winced. "He _kicked_ her in the face?"

Now shrugging around, mildly amused, John relaxed at the visual in his head. "No. He kicked his shoe off and nailed her. Knocked her out cold."

Both men remained silent for a few moments, unsure of whether to laugh or not.

"Is she okay?" Daniel ventured with a slightly amused tone.

John took a moment to reply, fighting the now forming grin on his face. "Once she gets a makeup kit."

It was wrong, it was immature, and it was definitely inappropriate, but neither man could help the soft snickers that left their lips at the thought of a boot imprint on Alicia's face.

* * *

Aleron looked up to the opening door, this Atlantean cell wasn't accomdating, but at least he could sit comfortably. A tiny silver lining in the mess things were around him. He said nothing but watched as Dan entered the room, his head a little off center from the bruise that had formed on his forehead.

Dan said nothing, and merely stared at Aleron. Another accusing face, another face that lied with even a look. Menalus had been right, primates like these didn't deserve to hold such a majestic city, the technology of the progenitors deserved more than dishonest thieves.

Aleron closed his eyes again, waiting for Dan to say something. Nothing at all, and Aleron could feel Dan's emotions radiating from him. A mixture of anger and spite, but also amusement?

A few seconds passed, and Aleron caught the whiff of something less than tasteful, He cleared his throat and coughed, shaking off the foul smell. Looking up at Dan, Aleron realized what had happened. "I…see."

Dan had his arms crossed, and he gave a simple nod. "We're even. Get the stick outta yer ass and I'll be here." With haste, Dan exited the room and shut the door behind him, the Traveler guards outside wondering what had happened.

Aleron ran up his shirt and used it as a filter. While Dan was truly evil, he wasn't above balance in life. Not exactly unimpressive, though his method of satisfying the debt could use refinement.

* * *

**Remember to Subscribe to C2 Archive.**

**A/N:** For those jonesing for a good Sci-fi story, check out HardBoiled's "Judgment Day" an SGA Fic involving the Travelers and AR-1 :D It's still a WIP but it's fun and has a very intriguing story! 

and thanks to Super-N-Gaspard for catching a minor continuity issue ^_^ Blistering pace while writing does that :P**  
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	2. Chapter 2

"You have any idea what this is about?"

Sam shrugged her shoulders and sat down. "Beats me. All I know is Carson wanted to talk to the people in charge."

John looked around as he sat down as well in the Atlantis conference room. Daniel, Teyla and Nevas were here, as were Ronon and Alicia. He'd come to find their 'command' council to be very fair, although Alicia rarely interjected and Ronon was as always, quiet unless he needed to get loud. Carson and Reyna were up at the front, ready to give a presentation.

"Maybe they know what happened to Aleron. Everyone's been talking about it."

John replied in kind with a shrug. "He wouldn't say anything to me, least nothing I could understand." He bit his lips, knowing that it was just a friendly lie. He wasn't about to tell Sam that he understood what Aleron had called her.

Daniel leaned forward and said. "Carson, do you think maybe we can start? We're all here and obviously you've got something big in mind."

Carson sighed and straightened his coat. He gave Reyna a sidelong glance, and then faced the group. "Very well. I'll keep this succinct. Atlantis is about to have a twenty percent population increase, and unless we can restock our medical stores at a faster rate, the mortality rate will be at least half of that."

No one said anything, but a few gasps highlighted Carson's words. Reyna sidled alongside him and added. "I know it sounds incredible, maybe even ludicrous, but it's true. We've been expecting this for months now, but we were hoping to have our labs set up properly by now." She hesitated, and then finished. "Obviously that hasn't worked out that well."

Silence for thirty seconds, and Daniel finally blurted. **"**You're _kidding_ me!"

Carson shook his head and replied with an even tone. "Not in the slightest. You haven't noticed because they've been keeping it quiet, and most of them are the laborers who stay away from command levels."

Equally shocked, Teyla shook her head quickly as if fending off an itch. "I have noticed a _few_, but a _far cry _from what you say, Carson." She looked at Carson once more, and seeing his resolute face understood he wasn't exaggerating. "I'm shocked and _appalled_ that we missed this."

Nodding in agreement, Carson continued. "Yes well, it's happened. And in two months we're going to be so bone dry on supplies, we'll have the fear of scurvy on our hands!"

Having recovered enough to even say something, John asked. "Scurvy? Isn't that a pirate's disease?"

"Aye, y'have no idea how fitting that comment is." Carson scoffed. He then turned to Reyna who handed him a stack of papers. "I've tried to work out how we can do this. With my staff and offworld teams, we've begun to process our own pre-natal and pediatric medicines and supplements. But it's slow going. These Ancient labs simply weren't meant for mass production, and the Traveler labs are nowhere near well equipped enough." He handed out the sheets of paper, with various numbers and percentages on them as well as what looked like a plan of action on the back, nobody paid attention as they were still in shock.

Nevas rubbed his chin and shook his head in disbelief. "No. No way is this true! We have birth control! It's part of who we are!" He checked himself and looked to Teyla. "Well… The Travelers anyway."

Narrowing her eyes Teyla spat back. "You outnumber the Settlers twice over, your people _must_ have responsibility in this too."

Seeing yet another fist fight was about to breakout, Daniel held up his hands and yelled. "Enough!" He looked at them both like a parent does naughty children. "Is arguing going to help anything?" He rubbed the tension in his head and looked to Carson. "Carson. _How_ did this happen? The Traveler's had a huge supply of birth control, is there a medical reason?"

Reyna gulped and then shook her head. "It's not like that Daniel. It was the Olim." She let out a loud breath and explained. "Think about it. the next three months is the start of the butter zone of expected delivery dates... what happened 7 months ago?"

Every eyebrow in the room raised as it became clear. Alicia recovered first with her shocked tone. "Oh my god, When we met them…"

"…"They were friendly…" John continued.

"… and willing to trade…" Nevas added.

"…It makes perfect sense." Daniel finished. "They wanted peace. They wanted families." Bowing his head, Daniel gave s soft curse in the most obscure language he could think of. "What do you need Carson? How can we prevent this from turning into a disaster?"

Silent up until this point, Ronon finally spoke. "The Olim. You want to raid them don't you?"

Carson shirked back, surprised at Ronon's deduction since he hadn't even looked at the paper. "Well… in a word. Yes. They have a huge industrial base, billions of people, and medical supplies to spare. I have the medical database that Aulus gave us before the invasion, and it would be simple to take what we need."

Reyna chirped in. "And actually… I think that's what happened with Aleron." Reyna groaned meekly, shifting from foot to foot. "I…_may_ have left a copy of this on my desk… if he saw it then it would definitely explain his actions."

John remained oddly silent, something Sam noted. Things had definitely come to a head and there was a very hard decision coming up. All that really mattered was how it'd go from here.

* * *

Alicia had come down to Sam's lab to find John. She needed guidance and he was the one with the most experience. She wasn't expecting to walk into a screaming match.

"How can you _say that!_ "

Alicia kept back, John and Sam hadn't noticed her and she planned to keep it that way as she hid behind the jamb of the door. Sam's reply was just as loud as John's. "This is a war, John. I'm not going to worry about _military_ casualties if we engage them and they fight back. It's not like we're bombing civilian cities, this _isn't_ Iraq and you _damn_ well know that!"

Harsh words, Alicia gulped and how low they were hitting.

"I _fought_ in Afghanistan! You know how many times I had to hold fire because those bastards were using civvies as cover! And that was going after _military _targets! This is even worse since they don't even separate the two!"

"I've spent the last 12 years of my life fighting, John. The Jaffa, the Goa'uld, the Replicators, even the goddamn Ori! Every single one used innocent people as cover and If I'd hesitated then we'd _all_ be _dead;_ Dead or _slaves!_ This is the same thing except there's an even bigger reason, and I'm _not_ going to let that stay on _my _conscious!"

Alicia was torn as well. Literally the argument was do you kill someone to save babies? It was a psych test's worst question. John screamed back. "There _has_ to be a better way! We _don't_ have to _kill_ to get what we need and you're a damned stubborn fool if you don't think so!"

Hearing him start to storm out, Alicia ducked behind one of the outcroppings of the hallway. Thankfully, John turned the other way in his blind rage, and didn't notice Alicia hiding.

Alicia had _never _heard those two fight like that before. She could feel the tension in the air as she waited a minute, and then decided to see if Sam was okay. She entered the room and noted Sam with her head bowed as she stood over her desk. "Colonel?"

Sam looked up, her eyes were bloodshot and jaw still trembling a little. "Alicia...what's wrong?"

Unsure of how to proceed, especially because Sam was her CO, Alicia tried to follow the rules John had laid out. "Well… I could ask you the same, ma'am."

Sam scoffed and shook her head. She rubbed her tired looking eyes and said. "I'm fine. I-I just had an argument with John over this whole plan Carson gave us." She smiled, though obviously forced. "And I told you Alicia, call me Sam."

Shifting from foot to foot, suddenly very nervous over this conversation, Alicia shrugged. "Yes Col- _urgh…_ _Sam."_ Alicia really wanted to get out of here, She'd come to see _John_, but her desire to see everything balanced had screwed her over this time. "Sorry. I guess you'll always be 'Colonel Carter' to me."

Sam lost her smile, and then huffed as she turned towards the door. "You don't say that to John."

The weight in Alicia's stomach dropped, the accusation stunned her and she only recovered in time to yell as Sam left the lab. "You know if we do this, we're no better than they are!" Alicia felt her body tense as she full out screamed and slammed her fist into the nearby table. _"Just because it's babies doesn't make us any better!"_

* * *

"You really think they're ready? This won't be a simple recon y'know?"

Ronon took a few deep breaths, and nodded. "Yeah, yeah they're ready. VR training is good, but they need to feel combat if they want to prove themselves." Ronon looked at the galactic map in front of him, and looked at the planets they knew for a fact were Olim held. "That one." Ronon tapped on the screen. "That's the planet where Aleron came from. Had tons of people. We send Daedalus in, maybe cover from two traveler ships. Take out military support from orbit and drop the troops. Find medical storage rooms and beam it all up. They've got some kind of shield on the gate too so we wouldn't be able to go that way anyway."

Behind them, Nevas and Teyla both looked worried, but Nevas nodded and said. "Okay then, I'll recall Marks. Any luck and he's managed to work them into a real fighting fleet."

Teyla idly watched as Nevas left the office, and then spoke quietly. "Is there not a better way? I am all for averting this disaster, but to cause one of our own? The Olim will not take this sitting down, they'll strike out and force a battle." She sighed and rubbed her face. "I am no expert, but my understanding is that in space battle, the Olim are no match for even the Traveler's craft."

Ronon nodded and took a deep breath in. "If they wanna die, let em. They started this war and we're gonna finish it."

Daniel sharply turned his head to Ronon and said. "Now wait just a second. Yes they shot first, and yes, we've been reluctant to shoot back. But this isn't like the Wraith or the Replicators. We can't just shoot everything we have and no matter what it hits it's a target. I'm not going to order an attack if it means innocents going to get caught in the crossfire."

Ronon narrowed his eyes and hissed."Innocents die everyday Jackson. If you _don't_ do this, a lot of _innocents_ on this city are gonna die. You ready to accept that?"

Daniel clenched his jaw. He'd known decisions like this were coming, but he just didn't expect it to be so brutally divisive.

* * *

Alicia had just approached the brig where Aleron was being held nad prepared to open the door, when it suddenly opened and she saw him. "Chuck! God, what happened?"

_"Just leave me the hell alone!"_ Alicia jumped out of Chuck's way as he stormed out of the brig, his face was dirty with tears and jaw trembling.

Shocked at Chuck's scream, Alicia did as she was told, Chuck let the door close behind him and rounded the corner, slamming hard against the wall with his forearms. Alicia looked at the two guards who shrugged, unsure of what was going on. Worried for Chuck, Alicia followed him just out of visual range. She heard his quavering voice amidst his sobs.

_"Laura… Laura, you there? Yeah it's me… No… no no, just… just, I need to see you. Please, I just- I just really need to see you right now. Ops? Okay…. I'll be there soon…love you."_

Gulping, Alicia once again realized that she'd stumbled into something rather personal. What could Aleron have possibly said to cause _Chuck_ such distress? She turned angrily to the door and waved it open.

Aleron was still on the floor, in his childish seated position. He looked deep in thought, his single blue eye that seemed to go nowhere. "What the _hell _did you do to Chuck!"

To her surprise, Aleron looked at her quizzically. "I think the better question is what the hell did he do to me?"

Ignoring the riddle-like question, Alicia launched into her semi-practiced speech. "You know, I came down here to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we're going to kill your people just to save our own and that it makes us as bad as Menalus. But if you're going to be a bastard _pendejo hijo de puta_, then you can rot in hell for all I care!"

Aleron opened his mouth to speak, but something held him back. He bowed his head and breathed hard, erratically. Alicia was furious and turned back to the open door ready to leave.

"Wait! Alicia!"

Still furious, Alicia turned to the cell and barked. "_What?"_

It took several seconds, but Aleron finally said. "I'm… _I'm sorry_. I want to talk. _Please…_ don't leave."

Alicia could feel her nails digging into her palms, her jaw tense and teeth aching. With a little reservation, she turned back to the cell. "What do you want to talk about?"

* * *

For as long as Daniel had known John, he knew that he liked to get some fresh air on a balcony - The one by the gate room especially because of the spectacular view. "Uhh… John?"

John turned - a bottle in his hand. "Hey, Jackson." He waved Daniel over. "Come on. Let's talk."

Daniel could smell the liquor from the doorway. He'd only ever seen John drink a few times and it was never good. "Everything alright?"

John shrugged; the bottle was still three quarters full. "Not really."

Daniel didn't pry, but he sidled up and sighed. "Guess that's to be expected. Carson really threw us a wrench in the gears." He drummed his fingers on the railing, looking out into the afternoon red sky. "Marks is coming back. We could use your help drawing up a plan."

"_Huh._" John scoffed. "You know as well as I do what Marks'll think. We send in the troops and a lot of people are gonna die. I'd expect you to be against that."

"I am." Daniel turned to John and confidently said. "That's why I want your help."

A few moments of silence; John took a sip and sighed. "Me and Sam had a fight. She wants to go in guns blazing."

"I'm not surprised. She _did_ almost lose the city to the Olim." Daniel knew it was pointless to side skirt the issue. "She's dangerous when she's angry, or hurt, or even frustrated. You should have seen her when Jack was trapped on Edora. Worked herself ragged for three months straight." Gripping the railing, Daniel tried to think of a way to get through this issue. "Give her time. She'll come around."

"I figured that." John took another sip, now mildly slurring his words. "Problem is we don't have time. Council hear Carson yet?"

"Oh yeah. They want _blood."_ Daniel felt like taking the bottle from John, but didn't really want to antagonize him. "You mind?"

John's eyebrows rose, but he handed the bottle over anyway. "Guess it really is that bad, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Daniel forced the liquor into his system. His body wasn't designed to handle high levels of alcohol; or even low levels really. "I'm serious, John. I don't want anyone to get hurt either, but this _is_ difficult. How do we tell a thousand families that we're not willing to get the medical treatment they need?"

John didn't have an answer, so instead he just stared off into space. Daniel understood fully, and took another sip now understanding why John used it. It dulled the pain.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

The flash around Marks abated, and he met face to face with the council and Ronon inside the conference room. He was surprised to see Aleron there as well given the report he'd gotten. "What's _he_ doing here?"

Ronon grunted and shook his head. "Dunno, but he wants to talk to you all. Daniel said to let him speak."

Beside Marks, Larrin scoffed. "Probably wants to look down his nose at us. Bastard."

Marks turned slightly towards Larrin and narrowed his eyes. Larrin silenced, but remained defiant in posture. The room watched as Marks and Larrin took their seats, both dressed regally in dark Traveler robes.

Daniel got up and took the front. He wondered exactly what everyone in the room was thinking. He knew for a fact that Alrich, Nevas and Larrin and quite possibly Marks were going to want to strike out. It was a given. Ronon was on the fence, as was his second Roland. He knew Teyla and John would support him, but most shocking was Sam, who despite being seated next to John, didn't make any of the typical playful gestures with the spiky haired man he'd seen before. Neither looked like they'd gotten a good night's sleep.

Off to the side with a particle magnum, Alicia sat guarding Aleron along with three other guards, the Olim in heavy chains. He had no clue what Alicia thought, and her expression was hidden behind her new hairstyle that hid the bruising on her face in the shape of a boot. Daniel thought she looked much more dangerous, almost devious.

Despite some assumptions, he really had no idea what Marks would think either. Democracy sucked some days. "Good morning. There's a lot we need to discuss, and I'm sure you're all wondering what Aleron is doing here." A few nods of agreement, and Daniel clasped his hands together. "We're here today because we're going to discuss the matter at hand, but before we do, Aleron has something to say to us; Aleron?"

The Olim looked to Alicia who nodded. Together, they got up with Alicia keeping her gun drawn. Everyone quieted as Aleron stood in front of them, his wrists chained together and his legs in shackles. "I know of your plan. You need medicine and supplies. I don't condemn this. Children are the future, the Olim take great care with our young." He sighed and winced. "But they won't simply give those supplies to you without resistance. They'll fight because it's what we're taught.

"There won't be any hesitation, no second guessing. The Olim fight because it is our nature, our _divine_ _right._ We've spent hundreds of years fighting the Shade, and trying to win back this galaxy. We've learned to survive the harshest odds, and we've learned to accept death as a part of our lives. I want you all to understand this. When the Olim think of casualties we don't think in the dozens or scores as you do, we think in hundreds, in _thousands._ The most men we've ever lost and called it a victory was the battle to save Primus Onyxus, a colony world which came under attack by the Shade. We saved more than a million, but fifty thousand died in sacrifice.

"You are not monsters." Aleron looked directly at Sam. "You promised me that you would not attack the Olim based on Menalus' actions. You held your word when you recovered your Potentia. Please… _please_ do not break that word now. I will help you plan, I will give you targets that Menalus' men use. But I beg of you all, do not kill my people just to save your own. We do enough to ourselves. Prove to my people that you are not animals. Prove that you are better. That is what I ask of you."

Silence, Aleron turned back to Alicia and nodded. Alicia let the breath she'd been holding in out and motioned. "Come on. Let's get you back to your cell."

Daniel watched as the Olim and his guards moved out. He simply hoped the impassion appeal didn't fall on deaf ears.

* * *

"So that's it? The man says a little speech and all of a sudden those bastards get a reprieve?" Marks asked with a deadpan tone. He was shocked at how the council was acting. "You saw what they did to us. We shouldn't hesitate to the same or even worse. They have to know we're willing to kill _every last one _of them who fights us."

The argument had gone both ways, the entire conference room shifting from one side to the other in the decision. Tempers flared and old hatreds spilled. Alrich spat at Marks. "You say that because they killed your woman! I don't deny you your anger, but even I am not ruthless enough to kill out of spite."

Teyla shot Alrich a glare, but it didn't help. "Ruthlessness has nothing to do with it. Aleron has offered to give us specific targets. If we do come to the point where we must fight, we can be reasonably sure that we're not attacking innocents."

John slapped the table in front of him and said. "That's kind of hard when the Olim military lives right alongside their civilians! There's no easy way out, if we fight, people are going to die, not to mention our own people have _never_ fought the Olim."

"Who says we have to shoot to kill?" Daniel interjected. "Particle Weapons _do_ have a stun setting."

Marks scoffed. "Kinda hard to set a railgun to stun, or a particle cannon, or Asgard weapons. You heard Ronon, they've got Iris's on their gates - we _have_ to take Daedalus and that means we're going to _have_ to shoot to kill if we want to get what we need. Even with Daedalus' sensors I can't make out a medical storage room from a weapons storage. If we want to get enough to supply the city, we're going to need every last inch in our hangers."

Daniel rubbed his chin and tried to tune out the arguing, Nevas called for more action, Teyla tried to get them to talk one at a time. John adamantly refused to opening fire from orbit while Sam just remained silent. Daniel took long and calming breaths. He wanted to just leave, let these people come to a decision without his help. But they needed guidance, they needed someone to tell them what complete idiots they were being.

To Daniel's surprise, it wasn't him who did it.

"Can I just point out the fact that this must have been the same thing Menalus and his crew argued before invading us?" Alicia screamed it, her voice cutting through the loud din and quieting it. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Maybe she was. "Now I don't know about any of you. But i _sure_ as hell don't want to go to bed tonight and think that maybe there's a family out there who lost someone without a _damned_ good reason. We need those supplies, that's not the question. But just how far are we willing to lower ourselves to their level to get them?"

It was a hard question, and Daniel could have kissed Alicia for being the one to ask it. Of course Teyla was right there as well, and likely would have hurt him. Daniel decided to end this here and now, at least for the moment. "Alicia's right. We're too emotional right now to make such an important decision. We have a little bit of time. We don't have to decide this today. Go talk to your people, see what they think."

Some quiet murmuring passed, and one by one the group began to disperse. Alicia turned to Daniel and ran her fingers through her hair. "Thanks. I… I don't really know what to do about this."

Daniel nodded and sighed. "None of us do. Go on, nothing has to be decided today."

Alicia joined the crowd leaving, and soon only Teyla remained. She looked at Daniel and could see the pain in his eyes. Without hesitation she moved forward and hugged him. "Come Daniel, Jinto must be tired of Torren and I think I need a reminder of why I'm doing this."

Daniel smiled and gave Teyla a kiss on the neck. She was such a strong pillar in his life now. "I think we all do."

* * *

"Hey, Sam!"

Sam turned from her seated position in the little park she'd come to think of as her thinktank, and smiled impulsively. "Mila!"

The Traveler girl, now looking more like a woman with her leather clothing walked right up and embraced Sam. "Aw, I missed you. How's my lab? Nothing blew up?"

"Ha ha ha! No!" Sam brushed away some of Mila's errant hair on her face and said. "It's been hectic. Lots happening."

Mila nodded and pulled Sam back to sit down. "I _know!_ Kevin's has been drilling us all so hard. I can't believe all those lugheads stopped taking their shots. I don't even _need_ them and I'm still taking them, I sure as hell don't want a shuttle in the hangar."

Sam blinked twice, then understood what Mila had said. A little flustered, Sam said. "Oh! Uhh… well…"

"Ha ha ha!" Mila gave Sam a little shove. "No, I'm not sleeping with anyone. I'm just saying it's pretty crazy that it all happened at once." Mila blew a heavy sigh and looked around. "You hungry? I'm starving. I could eat a whole loaf of bread right now."

Sam wasn't sure what to make of it. Mila was going from one thing to the other so fast it was hard to keep up. But in the end, it didn't matter. "Okay, I haven't had lunch yet. Let's go."

* * *

"You know, I nearly killed a kid in Iraq."

John sipped on his coffee as he, Alicia and Dan all sat together in the mess hall. He spotted Sam and Mila enter, and immediately move to a table far from them.

Dan turned to Alicia's comment. "You're a sniper, how'd that happen?"

Alicia shrugged and rubbed her face. "Little guy…he found an AK. Didn't know what he was doing and fired off a few rounds. I'm on a rooftop and I get the order to track." Alicia reached down and stirred her own tea with a spoon, the little reusable baggie floated and bubbled in the hot liquid. "I hear another shot, and I zoom in. All I see is someone holding a rifle and shooting into the air. We had a Littlebird in the area so… so I flicked the safety off."

John hated these discussions. They happened all the time to soldiers, police, even firemen and paramedics. Desensitized to such a level that the macabre didn't have any impact anymore. "AK can take a Littlebird down. It was the right call."

Alicia took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out her mouth. "I would have done it. Easy shot too, only a few hundred feet. .338 Lapua, we'd just gotten 'em in – trucks kept rushing the checkpoints." She pursed her lips, and let go of the spoon. "The kid turns and throws the gun to the floor. The kickback broke his collarbone and he couldn't let it go. Another second and I woulda pasted him."

Dan was eating nothing, but he gave Alicia's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Sheppard's right. It was a good call."

John shook his head and finished his coffee, he was done with this conversation. "I said right, not good."

* * *

"Danyel! Pway!"

Daniel chuckled as Torren continued to mispronounce his name as he bounced him around. The park was a nice place to relax, and – thankfully – easy to maintain with their now surplus water stores. "Daniel… _Daniel."_

Torren giggled and wiggled out of his grasp. Teyla was ahead of him, sitting in meditation beneath something similar to a bodhi tree. Daniel couldn't help but be amused. Torren had already taken his first steps and walking like a pro, though he still kept his diapers on and would often demand more of their time with his childish banter.

Daniel felt at home on Atlantis now. He missed Earth, he still missed Jack and Teal'c and Cam and Vala. He wanted nothing more than to bring them all here, to see what a lovely and diverse place Atlantis had become.

What would they think of him though? Adopted parent, mediator for people who hated each other, and scholar who'd had a cult form from the still simple minded settlers. Daniel didn't even really know if he liked himself or not anymore. Especially now, when he was making decisions that affected thousands of lives if not more.

He got up and walked over to Teyla, who heard his footsteps on the grass and said."Meditation helps to center one's thoughts. When nothing exists but what is closest to you, objectivity becomes possible."

Daniel scoffed in amusement. "Yes, Buddha."

Teyla opened her eyes and glared at Daniel. "I am _not_ a short fat man."

Sitting down next to Teyla and putting an arm around her. Daniel chuckled. "And I thank God every night for that."

Teyla laughed and shoved Daniel away playfully. The way he could completely change the mood with his deadpan humor was something she never thought she'd get used to. His ability to break tension was what made her pull him back into a cuddle.

* * *

Sam had told herself that she wouldn't come down here, that she wouldn't complicate matters further. But the man's words stuck and wouldn't let go. Sam _had_ to know for a fact the details. "Aleron."

The shackles had been taken off, and Alicia remained in a seat off to the side keeping Aleron company in his cell. She and Sam shared a quick glance, and simply ignored each other. Sam looked at Aleron and wondered just what drove the man. She'd been privy to a lot of cultures and beliefs and warrior codes, but his words to her earlier were more than that – his speech had made _that_ clear. "I'm listening."

Aleron raised his eyebrow in gulped once and then said. "I'm sorry. I was… _emotional._ It's difficult to control when it's spontaneous."

Sam didn't want to push it, but she did feel a little vengeful. "So I'm not a lying whore?"

Aleron winced. "…No. At least not yet." He looked up defiantly at Sam. "Prove me wrong."

* * *

"Did I ever tell you about Khalek?" Daniel tossed a ball towards Torren, who missed and chased after it with glee.

"No." Teyla stretched her legs on the grass. It wasn't too often the council was separated like this and given time to think. "Who was Khalek?"

Daniel hesitated, but replied softly. "… A Goa'uld." Daniel's stomach tensed at the memories. "He was a clone of Anubis, genetically altered to try and artificially ascend."

"Like the machine that affected Rodney?"

Daniel blinked twice. "Excuse me?"

Teyla explained all about the ascending machine on Atlantis, and how it had nearly claimed Rodney's life. Teyla still missed Rodney despite everything but she'd found solace in the fact that Rodney wasn't 'technically' dead.

"That lab was locked down after that situation. Rafaela knows more as she was involved in study of that lab."

Daniel nodded and rubbed his chin. "Maybe… I'll have to talk to her later anyways since we're still looking for Janus' lab. " Daniel shuddered as he realized he'd gotten off-topic. "In anycase… Khalek."

"Yes, what's the relevance?"

Biting his lips, Daniel bowed his head. "He was unconscious, we had no real idea what he was capable of, but he was a clone of quite possibly the evilest create I've ever known. So…." Daniel thought about how over the years he'd changed. So naïve to start,then cynical enough to defeat the Ori. What had happened to him now? "I suggested just killing him."

Teyla couldn't hide her shock, but it _was_ muted. She recalled similar situations in her own life. "What happened?"

Daniel sighed heavily. "We learned a bit about him, learned enough to fight priors. He broke through eventually and killed a few people. But we stopped him and… and it worked out in the end."

Teyla realized that Daniel wasn't talking about Khalek at all, he was instead trying to rationalize what he knew had to be done. So Teyla didn't say anything. It wasn't something she could decide _for_ him.

* * *

"This is what I've been waiting for. This is why I gave you command of the fleet."

Marks stroked his beard as he, Larrin and Nevas sat in the conference room awaiting the others. "You guys aren't ready. You can fight, I'm not denying that. But a real shooting war?" Marks shook his head. "Your guys still improvise, you don't like following orders and you question things. That's _not_ a good trait for a soldier."

Nevas narrowed his eyes and said. "Didn't _you_ question your orders? Isn't that the reason you're here?"

Larrin shot a glare at Nevas, but Marks held his hand up to her and said. "He's right." Marks then mimicked the same glare. "But that was before. People change, and in a war your people would get slaughtered. I'm only taking Daedalus on this mission. The rest'll stay with Atlantis and protect it from Olim reprisals just in case."

Nevas was quite confused, he couldn't tell who was on whose side anymore. "Uhh… so that means you'll fight them?"

Leaning back in his chair, Marks picked at his Traveler robe to let some air in. "I've told you, I've told Jackson, and I've told_ every single goddamned person_ who's asked. Anyone and I mean _anyone._ Olim, Shade or even you, gets in my way, and I'm running you down. Is _that_ clear enough?"

* * *

"We never really figured out exactly who that promise pertained to."

Shaking his head slightly at Sam's excuse, Aleron leaned back on the floor and sprawled out, "Say whatever you need if you must live the lie."

Sam winced, how was it that this man inside a cell could lash at her so harshly? "You'd do the same thing. You can't say no to that."

Aleron shrugged as he lay on the floor. "I can and do. It would have been a simple matter to kidnap Carson when I first met him. I chose to let him go because I felt he was honorable enough to keep his word and be an ally." Lifting his head off the ground, his cold eye stared at Sam. "I'm having doubts about your honor."

Sam clenched her fists, why'd she even come down here? It was a simple matter. You take care of your own before worrying about everyone else. She'd missed that before but it was clear as day now. "You said you'd help us, but it's still going to be a battle. There's no way of avoiding it."

"You can pick your targets." Aleron leaned his head back and sighed. "I know it's going to happen. I can't prevent it. I can even understand why it has to happen. But to use your own words, what would you do if it was _your_ people?"

"This _isn't_ my world." Sam hissed. "I left _behind_ my world for these people. Atlantis is my home now because circumstances left me no other choice. Now I've got a thousand families who in two months are going to run out of medical supplies. I may not be in charge anymore, but if I can help then you're _damned right_ i'm going to do whatever I can."

Aleron started laughing to Sam's surprise. It wasn't a huge laugh, but rather a resigned chuckle. "You're lost. You don't know what you want, or what you care about. Not truthfully. That's why to me you're still a _falcidus meretricis."_

Taking in a deep calming breath, Sam said through clenched teeth. "I _know_ what that means."

"No, you don't."

Sam shirked her head back in surprise. "_What_?"

Aleron shifted up from his prone position and said with a stronger voice. "You think I believe you have sex with different men for profit? That's the _primate_ way of thinking. Let me clarify, do you even _know_ why I wear gloves?"

"No." Sam racked her mind trying to figure out what he meant. "I thought they were just a part of your uniform." She didn't care anymore about her anger. She just wanted to know what the _hell_ Aleron was talking about.

"_Feelings,_ Emotions. I can _feel_. I _feel_ you and I sense… I sense so much. Only a whore would have that many feelings."

"_What?"_

Aleron started rubbing the area above his eyes. "_Deus Ex Preciolad, _To the Olim, a whore is one who has so many convoluted thoughts, that the only explanation is that they've shared themselves too often. Sharing is a _very_ private thing. You've got the rationality of a person who'd twist themselves by the thoughts of others." Aleron sighed and shook his head, rubbing the tension in his head. "Go away. You give me a headache."

Sam blinked a few times, silent in her thoughts, and then simply turned around and walked away.

* * *

With yet another day of contemplation, The council had finally all made it to the conference room. Only Daniel was missing, but thankfully no one was arguing. John rubbed his eyes, stretching his neck from the sore muscles. Alicia sat next to him quiet and still, something that worried John. Marks and Larrin sat off on their own near the large screen, with the main council in the center table. Sam sat off to the side next to Ronon, neither saying anything as well.

Daniel finally entered the room, and to everyone's surprise, he had a guest. "Wait!" Daniel screamed as the council began to yell. "He's agreed to help us!"

Aleron wasn't in chains like he was before, but a pair of rodded handcuffs kept him relatively incapable of fighting. He spared Alicia and John a glance before speaking. "I know I can't stop you. But I can assist you. Please. If that's the only thing I can do in this situation… then so be it."

Daniel nodded as he shut the door behind him. He turned and looked at all the faces behind him. Everyone was expecting him to take a leadership role… so that's what he was going to do. "We're not leaving this room until we have a plan that can satisfy all our concerns. I don't care if we have to set up cots and order takeout for a week. We're making this work."

* * *

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**A/N:** Be sure to check out "Stargate: Fait Accompli" on the SG-1 archive! It's a multi-writer project i'm heading up and it's going to be _awesome._

Also, the length of each chapter is pretty much variable now. some might be longer, some might be shorter. Depends on how many words it takes to tell the story :) _  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Entering the control room of the _Elacutor_, a _Promean_ class Protector Ship, Locagos Cloleus Fabien Junor watched as he bridge crew gave him their respectful auras. Working so closely together had made them into a cohesive unit, a seamless combination of minds and bodies. The thick trinium/naquadah alloy surrounding them gave the ship excellent protection against anything they'd encountered, earning the ship its class name.

Some of the less keen thought that combining their thoughts into ship motion made the crew less individual, but the results were inarguable. He resumed his seat and allowed the datastream link to attach to his mind.

Linking into the datastream, Cloleus knew the ship's status in an instant. As usual, everything was in perfect working order. The only odd thing was that the deep space relays were picking up errant Porta Signals - Probably just colony traffic. Telarus was in the center of several smaller trade worlds, simple people just living to build whatever was popular or needed. Cloleus didn't really care, it's not like they ever built anything useful. Telarus was just another planet as far as he was concerned. Even the Telarans didn't care much for it as they refused to spend time on orbital defenses, preferring to just evacuate to another should a problem come.

At least that's what the Telaran's latest defensive plan was. With the majority of the fleet spread thin to keep a watchful eye, Cloleus made due with what he had, just like always.

Not like the Falaceans, Felas was the center of industry - robotic shipyards could churn out mining ships, mobile refineries, even the warships that made the might of the Olim. _Elacutor_ had been built on Felos, as her two escort ships, the _Rosea_ and the _Brilon_. Cloleus chuckled ot himself - only escort class and higher were named and even those often had repetitions there were so many.

Cargo ships landed and rose from the planet as he watched, the typical normal was a sense of tension in the datastream though, a level of hidden feeling beneath the surface information. Not open worry, but simply… _tense. _Cloleus focused and opened a dialogue with his right hand.

_'Hester, what's wrong?'_

_'Aulus accepted his exile. There's still very little word about Edegas – at least publically. It's been several months and we haven't heard anything of the Atlanteans. The Aurians pushed on the latest Centaur colony… Should I go on?'_

Cloleus smiled as he scratched the area above the mental link helmet by his ear. Hester was amusingly blunt, especially with his thoughts. _'Please do, you know I like to be informed.'_

Allowing the information to flow into his memory, Cloleus focused on the errant porta transmissions, he directed his communications officer to find out if they were the colonies, or perhaps something else. He didn't know the Vibrans to use the portas, but that didn't mean it wasn't a threat. In moments, he received the answer.

_'Astria Porta signals not from Olim origin.'_

Cloleus tensed and sent orders to his escorts. _'Spread formation to geosynch over the main settlement.'_

Two acknowledgments, and he could see the ships moving in his mind's eye. At almost a kilometer long, the _Promean _class Protector ship was a giant, but not the behemoth of the Olim fleet. They'd learned long ago that size meant nothing without the resolve to back it.

Cloleus didn't like what he felt in the datastream. It made him paranoid. But paranoia was useful, it kept him on his toes.

He was proven right as a signal came through the deep space probes. Not just porta signals, but a hyperspace signal. He reacted instantly with his thoughts,

_'Rosea, break orbit and cover our flank. Brilon, kept in high orbit and cover possible evacuation. Command. We have incoming unknown hyperspace signal.'_

The two ships acknowledged and moved even as the _Elacutor_ did. Command would take a moment, the signal needing to be relayed across dozens of probes. There were few hyperspace capable species the Olim had met, none of them friendly anymore.

The hyperspace signal resolved, a small ship, and to Cloleus' surprise, a recognizable one from the reports the Telarians had brought back from Edegas. "_Mephistus…Command! Telarus is under siege by the Atlanteans! We have their Progenitor enhanced ship at the edge of our solar system moving in fast! Request fleet reinforcements!"_

In an instant, the datastream began to filter the dozens of signals from everyone in the area. The few cargo ships in the air jumped into hyperspace even in atmosphere, uncaring about anything but survival. It was normal, it was expected… it was sadly the truth Cloleus thought.

The _Elacutor_ took a defiant posture, putting itself between the Atlantean vessel and the planet. Cloleus made no error in judgment. He knew that the Atlanteans could vaporize his ship with their stolen Progenitor technology, but even if it was just to buy time for the ships on the ground to take off, it was worth it.

Cloleus didn't even have to give his people orders, they just did the natural thing they'd been trained to do and worked effortlessly. The reserve capacitors were drained and guns fully charged. The drone fighters were engaged and prepared to take off. All Cloleus could do now was watch, react, and..

_'Resolve.'_

* * *

"Aleron was right, they're taking a defensive posture. We're well out of range but they're holding position. Probably waiting for reinforcements."

Marks allowed himself a tiny smile. Jalen had been by far the most capable of the Travelers in a military sense and that meant he was useful. Useful meant he didn't have to control everything.

The bridge of the _Daedalus_ had changed over the past three months. Gone were all insignias of Earth, gone was the clean cut look that crews of Earth's 304 program maintained with god knew how many chemical cleansers. _Daedalus_ was rougher, it even had its own distinct smells and sounds that Marks had never really noticed before.

"Good. Now let's see if he was right about the rest." Marks turned to Larrin, who was seated at the weapons console beside him. "Railguns only. Target their major population centers. Give me a five second burst."

Larrin gave Marks the slimmest grin. She'd been waiting for orders like that for months now. "Firing."

* * *

Cloleus was surprised, the Atlanteans had charged face first according to the reports from Edagas, now they were holding back and firing long range bombardments - and against _civilian targets?_

The fire was widespread, he'd need all three ships in order to take the hits if he wanted to give the ships below time to charge their engines and escape. He only hoped the fleet arrived sooner rather than later.

* * *

Recylas had already called back his wife from the distribution center, they could make due without fresh food for the evacuation. The alarms had been clear and there wasn't anything more to do about it. Whether it was Shade, Atlantean, or Aurian, or whatever else had decided to pop its head up, the Olim were ready to regroup.

Being the ship with the Porta gave him a little more authority, and the other ship heads were following his lead – not exactly what he wanted at this moment.

The large storage room where the Porta was kept was festooned with equipment, all the most sensitive command and control was kept here. The Porta workers would take care of the needed adjustments for space operation, but now –

"Porta Signal incoming!"

Recylas turned on his heel, if there were colonists coming they'd send their signal and open the shield. He barked orders. "Guards to escort! Try and tell them to divert!"

The others in the room had made the same conclusion, and prepared for unneeded guests. The porta flashed open, and the shield snapped into place automatically. It took only moments for a verified signal to come through, and the shield opened to let the people through.

So Recylas was shocked when instead of people, a trio of large canisters came through, each spewing a smelly smoke that burned his eyes and throat. He couldn't even call for help, and before he knew it, a red pulse flew into his chest from the obscured Porta taking his consciousness away from him.

* * *

Cloleus braced himself, there was no telling what those Atlanteans had fired.

He felt the impacts against the armored hull through the datastream, but to his surprise, it didn't do much damage, merely penetrating a few feet into the armor - Simple slug rounds.

That's when the reports of fighting on the ground came through - the Atlanteans had somehow gotten through the shield on the porta and invaded. Cloleus focused on the relay to the homeworld, a fleet was on its way and would be there soon.

But with the Atlantean craft moving closer and firing more solid slugs - Cloleus shut everything off for a moment, just focused on what could be happening. He opened the datastream and listened to the signals… The fleet was spreading out… Telarus wasn't alone…the Atlanteans were attacking _three_ worlds!

_Mephistas Joderzan! That's it! 'All ships, continue providing the colony cover! It's some kind of diversion! Hold fire until they move closer!"_

_

* * *

_

"Those ships are ugly… you'd think with their industrial base they'd build something that at least looked like it was designed well."

Marks watched carefully as Larrin fired another burst from the _Daedalus'_ railguns. Not enough to destroy anything, but more than enough to threaten grond targets and force the ships to remain in high orbit to cover. The Olim ships were large and cumbersome, nothing like any ships he'd seen before, and nothing had prepared him to see a Ha'tak or an Ori Toilet. The Olim ship was literally a giant slab of alloy, so heavily armored that Marks knew right off the bat that it wasn't a ship capable of landing on a planet. Aleron had been right, the Olim military did _everything_ to protect the civilians. Railgun rounds were one thing, but this presented a unique opportunity.

Marks turned to Larrin who was still at the weapon controls. "I want a spread fire from particle cannons. Nothing too wide, I want those ships to take the hits. Give me an eight shot burst."

Larrin smirked slyly. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"No." Marks gave Larrin a gentle nod, his face hard with control."It wasn't."

* * *

Ronon _loved_ this particle rifle. It balanced almost the same as his magnum, but the rapid fire gave him carnage at his beck and call. He sprayed the corridor ahead of him with stun fire, dropping three Olim who'd come to investigate the alarm he'd set off by blasting into the hull.

There were no Alcaeus wielders, or even alert guards. Aleron had been correct and Telarus was woefully undefended because it wasn't strategically important to them, and now as Ronon and his teams split up, the battle was one-sided.

It wouldn't stay like that, and Ronon hurried. Behind him, Ashima lugged her demolition kit recently lightened by the not so subtle insertion. Ronon wished Aleron was here, but at the same time he didn't. It was cruel fate that brought Aleron to such a point in his life, where he'd had to choose to betray his people to keep them safe.

The Olim ship they'd entered was the size of Daedalus, but filled with narrow corridors that made perfect shooting galleries for his team. With Ashima and three others behind him, the element of surprise was a godsend. He only hoped the rest of the plan worked just as well and his other distraction teams didn't get bogged down on the other planets.

* * *

'Incoming energy weapons! Tight concentration, it's another bombardment!'

Cloleus bit back his worry and steered the craft into a broadside, the wide ship awaited patiently as the red bolts of plasma neared. Plasma was so inefficient, and it would take so much to do any real damage to a Shade before they merely absorbed it. Research was being done on different types of weaponry using that same technology as far as he knew but it was still experimental. These Atlanteans were in a prime position to attack his people and there was little they could do about It – at least for now.

So he braced himself and watched the almost pretty red bolts slam into the side of his ship – boiling away layers of heavy armor and leaving deep gouges. Rosea and Brilus both took hits as well, but they kept the planet beneath them safe.

Cloleus had figured it out and even as he desperately sent the transmission to the planet, he knew they'd been outmaneuvered. He couldn't turn his ships around to try and assist those on the ground, not with that _mephistophian_ ship lobbing shots at them from a huge distance away. It was a nimble craft too with its progenitor designed engines and they'd need to be point blank to possibly score a hit with their gauss cannons.

All he could hope was that the Atlanteans had other plans, and that invasion was only a distraction.

* * *

"We're getting a signal from Ronon, He's found the storage rooms and he's tagged them. Other teams reporting in too."

Marks nodded and replied to Jalen. "Good, give me top speed and charge those Olim ships. Shields to full and bring Asgard Cannons online."

The crew did as they were told, but hesitated. The plan called for Railguns and Particle cannons only, just enough to damage but not destroy the heavily armored Olim ships. Asgard weapons would burn through the Olim ships without issue. Jalen did as he was told though and input the commands.

Larrin stayed silent, but watched on the screen as the planet and ships slowly came closer. She swallowed audibly, and then looked to Marks.

Marks remained silent, but stared at the screen. "Transfer weapons control to my console." When Larrin didn't acknowledge, he turned to her. "Transfer weapon controls."

_"Let me do it." _Larrin whispered. Marks barely heard it, certainly no one else did.

Marks clenched his jaw and gripped his right armrest. "Larrin. Transfer weapons control _now."_ Some of the crew had noticed now, they were only a half minute from entering what they assumed was an optimal weapons range fot the Olim ships.

Larrin took a deep breath in and began to target with the Asgard Cannons. _"I'll wait to pass… it won't hit the planet."_

Marks let a small growl leave his throat, and spoke in a low and guttural tone. "You kill them and I'll kill you."

Larrin raised her eyebrows at the threat. He'd come close before, so she knew he was serious. "_Please…"_

Mark inched closer, now beginning to pull himself out of his seat. Larrin relented and tapped in the console quickly, then said out loud. "Weapons transferred to your control…" Her jaw was trembling and her knuckles were white. Marks could tell that she was regretting having accepted this position on his ship to 'learn' from him.

Marks resumed his seat and stared forward now, the Olim ships were still steaming from the particle cannon impacts but had turned around to face the _Daedalus_. They were aiming their main guns and would open fire soon. "Jalen, hold this course. Put us right between them and let our inertia carry us. Shields at maximum."

Jalen shook off his worry and did as he was ordered. Marks saw that Jalen wasn't like the others, he had the soul of a soldier. Now all that was left was the second part of the plan, and either pools of blood, or oceans.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

The Atlantean ship was moving towards them at high speed now, still firing solid slugs of checked the status of his ship's armor plating – still strong enough to take those hits.

It was so simple now, the Atlanteans were toying with them. They must have had some kind of agenda beyond a simple invasion. Otherwise –

The sensors began to warn Cloleus, a strange energy signal was coming from the Atlantean ship. It matched the same reading Denarius Telarus had brought back from Edegas – The Atlanteans were arming their progenitor cannons. _'All non-essential crew to escape pods! Prepare tor evacuation!'_

* * *

Recylas felt consciousness return to him, which was surprising as he'd been expecting to enter the light of death. He coughed and felt the burning along his throat, but he could move and even more, he could ignore it.

Looking around, the Atlanteans had left the place in shambles. Several others were on the floor, stirring and still hurt. But Recylas now felt _wrath – _The Atlanteans may have come like a storm, but they'd leave in bags. He crawled over to the nearest body, it was the technician in charge of the porta itself. Reycylas tried to speak, but couldn't form the words from the searing pain in his throat. He winced, and then decided – Taking his right glove off, Recylas grabbed the man's forearm and pulled him up.

It was enough, the quick touch spread enough of what Recylas wanted and the tech nodded even as he tried to breath. Recylas moved over to where the main console was and input his command codes, a total lockdown of the ship might mean they couldn't take off, but it also meant the Atlanteans were trapped.

* * *

The blue of hyperspace was a lovely thing, it was all the proof Aquilina needed that the Olim were only a cog in the gears of the galaxy. A simple tool that continued the life of the galaxy. She couldn't understand how some of the others felt that the Olim were different, at least not since Atlantis.

She wouldn't be a part of this mission, but then again she hadn't taken part of much recently. Aquilina was a hero, almost a legend now just like Korpius. Unlike Korpius though, Aquilina couldn't stop thinking about what happened. She had no clue if Aleron was still alive, the Atlanteans might have killed him out of spite. Aquilina ran her thumb along her chin – where she'd been slashed by that Atlantean woman – and felt the scar that had formed. The doctors had wanted to heal the wound using progenitor technology, reforming the torn skin into its original shape. Aquilina refused, she _wanted _to remember.

Aleron had saved her, but he'd come just as close to killing her as that Atlantean. Aquilina just didn't know what to do anymore.

"Syntarchis?"

Aquilina turned, she was still getting used to this honorary promotion. "Yes?"

The Primus Locagos behind her nodded. "We'll be at Telarus in moments. Menalus wishes to know if you'll join the ground forces with Korpius."

"No." Aquilina shook her head and then turned back to the ground. "Let Korpius do what he must. I'll remain with the main force and the fleet."

The Locagos nodded, and then left Aquilina alone in her quarters again. Being a hero was a strange feeling - all she could hope was that this Atlantean invasion wasn't as deadly as she knew they could be.

* * *

"They've opened fire!"

Marks watched as the Olim ships began to fire their Gauss Cannons. The larger ship had an array of smaller cannons that rapid fired slugs of trinium at relativistic speed – an impressive feat, but nothing that Daedalus' Asgard shields weren't capable of blocking. "Hold course!"

Larrin's breathing had increased, Marks could tell she was getting antsy and _didn't_ like being fired on. "Aren't you going to shoot back?"

Marks saw the first wave of impacts slam into shield and boil away. He looked down and saw fractions of a percentage point from the shields drain. Just like he knew they would. "Eventually."

* * *

Cloleus had no idea how much damage his ships were doing, but the main cannon hadn't reached proper sighting yet. Rosea and Brilon only had defensive cannons, designed for use against Class 2 or even Class 3 Shade in a barrage. The Megedas class main cannon was the mainstay of the Olim war machine, strong enough to punch through Class 4 Shade, even destroy them in a group shot.

These infernal progenitor armed _primates_ though – their energy shielding gave them tremendous defensive capabilities against the kinetic weapons, even if it just served as a flame to the Shade's moth. _'Keep firing. Resolve!'_

The Atlantean ship didn't even bother to maneuver out of the way when the main cannon finally moved into a firing position. Cloleus sent the fire order and the ship reverberated from the tremendous strain the inertial dampeners had to take. The _Promean_ Protector class was the smallest ship fitted with it, and repeated use would damage the hull integrity.

A few shots wouldn't matter though, and as soon as the heavy cannon reloaded, he fired again. The shaped slug popped out effortlessly, reaching a little over a tenth the speed of light. A single shot could level the majority of an Olim colony and he had no doubt that _this_ would do some damage to the Atlanteans.

Three shots in total now sped out, and the Atlantean craft did nothing, it _rammed_ into the shots brushing off the massive kinetic energy as if it were nothing. The slugs shattered and boiled into clouds of vapor left behind as the Atlantean craft now passed by the three ships. They had a clear shot at the Olim colony which was still preparing to take off, still under attack by their ground forces.

Cloleus couldn't do anything, any shot after the Atlanteans now would - _Mephistas!_ The Atlantean craft spun around now, presenting its top to them. Cloleas tried to work out a perfect firing solution but it was too late. The Atlantean craft fired its devastating plasma cannon that tore through space at unbelievable speed. The beam cut into the _Elacutor, _boiling the majority of its armor off like a flame to butter. Cloleus lost his link with all sensors from the section hit, but noted that hull integrity remained normal.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt the rest of the homeworld fleet arrive, fully three dozen ships including their _Hyparius_ class Destroyers. Even the Atlanteans would have trouble defending against that kind of power.

* * *

"Olim fleet just dropped out of hyperspace behind us! They're taking defensive positions. We'll have to punch a hole to get away." Larrin sighted the Daedalus' cameras on the largest Olim ship - almost 3 kilometers long and bristling with hangars and gauss weaponry. "That thing's as big as a hive, but we wouldn't have much problem taking it out with those Asgard weapons. Even a small nuke would take it out."

Marks fired the Asgard Plasma cannon once more, completely boiling off the armor plating the kilometer long ship had. He'd been careful not to hit the hull, just to make sure every Olim on that ship knew how precise their weapons were. "They won't fire. If they miss they'll hit the ground." Marks then barked. "Jalen! Take us into the atmosphere! Make sure we burn on reentry!"

If Larrin didn't already know what the plan was, she would have questioned Marks' orders. But that's part of what she needed to learn, she wasn't a soldier and despite her considerable knowledge of being a ship captain, she wasn't knowledgeable in war. But _this _engagement she could understand. Just killing them was easy, it was the simple way to do things. She knew that if it'd been her choice, she'd be standing on Menalus' defiled corpse.

But that wasn't the plan, and now she waited for Marks to move to the main mission.

"Start beaming up transponder signals! Point us right at the main colony and evasive maneuvers!"

* * *

Dan tossed away the spray can and chuckled, when the Olim found this, they'd be confused, but it was too perfect an opportunity to pass up. Alicia came in from behind and barked. "Come on DaVinci! We gotta go!" She looked mean in her blue and red armor.

Dan unholstered his particle rifle and made sure the transponder he'd dropped was still working. He nodded to Alicia and began to follow her out. The Olim hadn't stood a chance against their blitz, but they'd regrouped and stiffened their resistance. Several Olim on this craft – the third he, Alicia and Roland had tagged – had been armed. Dan never liked only stunning armed enemies but orders were orders.

Alicia rounded the corner ahead of him and put another stun shot each into the Olim on the floor. The Olim recovered quite fast from the weapon and Dan liked that Alicia wasn't about to get ambushed. She'd gotten much more like the 'leader' he was supposed to follow. And her butt looked _damned_ tasty as he followed.

* * *

Recylas coughed violently, trying to get whatever gas he'd been hit with out of his lungs. The fresh air helped but even his _armpits_ burned. What kind of people had weapons so vile?

His wife hadn't been attacked thankfully, and she held him up trying to console him, They'd taken cover behind the ship with several militia covering them. His wife pointed up, where a large flaming object was falling towards them.

The few craft that had been able to warm up their engines began to take off, desperate to get out of the way of the crashing object. The few ships with weapons fired recklessly, trying to stop whatever it was. Recylas didn't know what was happening, but next to the Shade, he'd never been more terrified as he tried to speak, but couldn't say a damn thing.

* * *

"Incoming fire from the ground, light Gauss cannons." Jalen sighed and shook his head. "They can't expect it'll do anything.."

With flames now coming out of the sides of the ship where the shields were slowly being drained, the little Gauss Slugs vaporized before evne hitting Daedalus. Marks stood up and walked to the front to watch with Jalen. "You can't blame them. They think we're gonna attack them." He turned to Larrin,who was watching the screen with a cold stare, unblinking. "Larrin, fire forward railguns on the unpopulated fields."

When Larrin didn't reply, Marks turned and walked over to her."Larrin. _Fire_ Railguns on unpopulated fields."

She looked up at him, and he could see the fire in her eyes – but it was muted.

* * *

How could he do this? How could Kevin keep his composure with the people who'd killed Katana, who'd killed without remorse and tried to steal Atlantis? Larrin grit her teeth and forced her hand to target non-populated areas, but close enough for the shockwave to potentially wound them.

On the screen, she watched as the solid railgun slugs flew out ahead and impacted on the ground, throwing up geysers of dirt. She couldn't imagine what the Olim must on the ground must have been seeing, Daedalus' shields were sparkling and letting off a huge trail of smoke and fire as the ship burned a hole in the atmosphere of the planet, now only moments from impacting on the ground.

Marks turned to Jalen who'd sat at the navigator's station again. "We pick up all signals?"

"Yes, sir, beaming up the teams now. No casualties."

Marks turned his head back to the screen, the ground of the planet coming up quickly. He sighed softly to Larrin's surprise. She could see the desire to do something beyond the raid's mission, but she could also see something else in his posture. Honor maybe?

Honor was stupid. Survival meant everything. That's how the Travelers survived ten thousand years of Wraith oppression. Honor was a useful tool when it brought her loyalty. Nevas was honorable and that gave her his loyalty… and now she'd sworn hers to Marks. But things weren't going the way she wanted – Larrin didn't know what the future held anymore.

* * *

"Alright, Once they're onboard, jump into hyperspace." Marks continued watching the land come up on the ship, and moments later a hyperspace window open. The mission was complete, and as far as he knew he'd succeeded in putting the fear of their gods into the Olim. "This is Marks to Ronon, Was the Olim's intel accurate?"

_"Yeah, Aleron came through. We've got all we could find, should be enough."_

Marks sighed softly as the blue of hyperspace came through. Daniel and the rest of the council had over complicated what should have been a simple thing. It was a downright miracle none of Ronon's team had been killed. "Any wounded?"

_"Yeah."_ That was all Ronon said. Marks didn't need to ask what kind of injuries were coming.

Marks turned over to Jalen again, the entire bridge crew were quiet, as if they all wondered what had just happened. "How many people you think were on those ships?"

Jalen typed quickly on the console and softly said. "Don't have to guess, civilian fleet had about three million. Military fleet about a hundred thousand."

Three million people. Not a huge amount by Marks' thinking, but to the Travelers, three million was more than most of Pegasus combined. He turned to look at Larrin, but then found that she'd left the bridge. Marks didn't say anything, but then looked at Jalen again. "Bring up the scans we did. I want to put Aleron through his paces and see what he can tell us about these ships. If we fight them for real next time I don't want _any_ doubts."

* * *

Sam watched from outside where instead of the typical landing on Atlantis or beaming down of supplies, _Daedalus_ docked with _Lucy_ and unloaded both the men and supplies to the station for inventory there. The Travelers had installed a set of rings in the main storage area of the station and it proved much faster and less wasteful than using shuttles or Asgard Transporters. It also made travel between the two stations incredibly simple.

A little under a third of the Travelers living on Atlantis, and even a few dozen settlers had decided to colonize _Lucy_ and investigate it. They'd found little of interest, the station having been cleared of all but the most basic ancient technologies. Sam had spent the last few days investigating it as well and found references to different Ancient studies, but very little that they hadn't figured out already.

"Sam?" Sam turned to the distinctly feminine voice. "What are you doing here?"

Sam watched as Rafaela entered, behind her a pair of Traveler technicians came in as well. "Raffa? Oh, I saw that electrical alarm on my console. Decided to come and take a look." She noted Rafaela give hand signals to the two techs, and how they quickly got to work diagnosing the problem. "Uhh, it's probably just old conduit. We've had to replace quite a bit of it."

"Yeah I thought that too." Rafaela nodded and then screwed her face. "You okay Sam? I know this whole Olim raid thing is pretty bad… but is it true there are _that_ many new families?"

Sam sighed and nodded, even science wasn't helping her right now. "Yeah, otherwise we might have been able to hold out on our own. Hopefully this is the only time we'll have to do this but…" Sam turned back to the window, where Daedalus' lights had now dimmed and the airlocks opened.

Rafaela sidled up, her posture slim and recessed. "I hope I'm not being too forward but…" She shrugged her head around suggestively. "I heard you and John had a fight."

Sam scoffed, was her love life really that entertaining? "Who told you? Alicia?"

Shirking back, Rafaela shook her head. "What? No! I overheard some of the Travelers in the mess hall talking about it." She pulled a little face and bowed her head. "I guess that must get on your nerves, huh?"

_"Oh yeah."_ Sam rubbed the back of her neck. The whole mission had gone smoothly as far as she knew, but she still didn't have a full report in her hands that she could dissect. "I heard you and Radek had some plans for Daedalus. At least before…"

Rafaela nodded, now grinning and bouncing from foot to foot and rubbing her hands together. "Yeah, we want to use Daedalus as a testbed for most of the technologies. We've already worked out the biggest one, and the subspace capacitor you finagled from the ancient communications device was the last piece we needed."

"Yeah…" Sam idly nodded, but then turned to Rafaela. "Wait, you mean it's ready?" A smile instinctively covered her face, and she realized that Science would never be _that_ far off in her heart. "You mean…?"

Rafaela nodded and motioned with her head. "Ilias and Marit can finish here. I've got the prototype ready and I think Radek wanted to show it to Marks later today."

Sam took in a deep breath and nodded. Her personal life might have gone topsy turvy, but nothing beat subspace energy and converted inertial dampeners. All she needed now was some blue Jell-O.

* * *

Daniel set the report down, all three team leaders were in his office with him and he wasn't too surprised by the results. "So we lost three people?"

Ronon nodded and cracked his knuckles by forming a fist. "No one from my teams. But Aralus's team ran into trouble. Looks like they had a squad there doing police work and they fought."

Daniel got up out of his seat and turned to face the screen behind him. While John and Ronon were used to this, and even Aralus didn't seem that bothered, Daniel closed his eyes and thought about what had happened. Three Atlantean lives. Three versus gods knew how many. "Who were they?"

Aralus sighed and smacked the armrest of his chair with his fist. All three men were still in their body armor."Heliat, Projas, and Kaileth. They got jumped form behind because they moved up too far." Aralus leaned forward and growled. "I told them to hold, we just needed to hold the gate and make sure we could make it back. They wanted to fight and they got what they deserved."

The three other men turned to him, but only Daniel spoke. "What the _hell_, Aralus? They _deserved it?"_

Ronon grunted and got up as well, his fists swung around. "He means they lost control!" Ronon audibly ground his teeth. "They got mad and wouldn't listen to orders - Happens to newbies."

John shrugged uncomfortably and bowed his head. "They saw action and wanted in. I held my team at the gate and we hardly even got return fire. We held for the 10 minutes we needed to and gated out. No fancy shit." He then turned to Aralus. "No offense."

Aralus cocked his head and sneered. "None taken." He then looked up at Daniel who still stared at him. _"What?"_

Daniel sighed, and then motioned with his head. "Get out. Go see the families of those men and prove to _them_ it wasn't a waste." Aralus silently got up, but stormed out pushing the door open wildly. Once he was out of earshot, Daniel asked. "Is there anyway we can prove his team used stun mode?"

Both John and Ronon shook their heads, though John shrugged. "Maybe Sam or Raffa can check their guns out. Don't know enough about em to be sure."

Daniel clicked his jaw together, this may have turned out to be a tactical victory, but how do you celebrate a victory when you're a bad guy? "Alright…do that. Tell your people not to spread the word around…and check _everyone's _guns. I want an _accurate_ casualty count. Not just what's been told. Don't spread that either."

Nobody said anything, but Ronon and John quietly left as well, the door softly shutting behind them. Daniel sighed and resumed his seat, tapping the table with his fingers in front of him. On the desk, a picture Sam had kept and made a copy of SG-1, with the taped on additions of Vala and Cam. Daniel looked at it for a moment and then muttered. "Guess we can't all be SG-1."

* * *

Aleron watched as Sam entered the room to his cell. She was in BDU's and looked dirty – as if she'd just finished repairs to some obscure part of the city. He noted a pad of papers in her hand, but that she was in a defiant state. He could feel the strength from her resolve, but it wasn't the same strength as before. This was strength from determination, not confidence. "What do you want?"

Sam walked up to the control of the cell, and input her override code. The forcefield shut down and she tossed the paper inside through the bars of the cell. "That's the entire report. We lost three people and as far as I know, we didn't kill anyone." The pad landed on the ground with a soft thud, and she reactivated the forcefield. "I'm not sorry for what we did. If that means I'm a lying whore than so be it."

She turned around and walked away, but Aleron called out as she reached the door. "Wait!" Sam stopped, but didn't turn around. "You kept your word as much as you could. You're still confused but...i think that's a problem you're dealing with. Forgive my words, but understand _my_ position."

Sam didn't say anything, but turned her head slightly back. Aleron could feel the forces wrestling within her, but it wasn't anything to do with him or the Olim. So he stayed quiet and watched her wave the door open.

Alicia was on the other side with a large bag, and they two women gave each other a pair of looks that rivaled lasers. After a moment's hesitation, Sam scurried past Alicia and stormed off. Aleron watched as Alicia's face went from a muted anger, to now almost apologetic. "Aleron…" she bounced the bag up and down. "I guess Sam told you about the mission."

Aleron nodded and pointed at the report in front of him on the floor. "All there. It'll make a nice pillow." He motioned to the bag. "What is that?

Alicia bounced it up and down gently. "Well…I talked to the council. They want to keep you here until they're sure you're not going to go crazy again." She sighed. "You still might be an arrogant Cyclops, but I know you're no threat. I'd have gone crazy already in there, so I brought you your stuff." She bit her bottom lip. "Hope you don't mind I went into your quarters."

Aleron scoffed softly and shook his head. Surprise was an understatement. "No… not at all. What I _do_ want though is something to eat."

Pulling a smile, Alicia again bounced the bag and headed over to the controls to shut off the forcefield. "You're in luck, I brought some of those crazy foodcubes the Ancients liked. Figured I may as well try 'em."

Aleron could feel the comradeship coming from Alicia, she was trying to buy back her honor from having to attack his people. Better than nothing he supposed. "They'll do." He winced and looked at how Alicia was _still_ wearing her hair in front of her face. "Before you do. I want to apologize. Although your hair does look better like that."

Alicia stifled a snort as she instinctively went for her air. She tapped in her override to the forcefield and said. "It's not regulation, but it's not everyday I have to hide a shoeprint on my face." She shut the field down, and then opened the bag. Aleron got up to accept the items through the bars. "I'm still going to get back at you somehow."

Aleron nodded, and accepted a book that Daniel had lent him so he could learn Earth language. He called it the 'Dictionary'. "I have no doubt, Dan has already tortured me with his putrefaction."

"Huh? Speak English!"

Aleron snorted, and then accepted the flute she handed him. He set both down on the bench which now doubled as a table. "Never mind…"

Alicia continued handing him his things, until finally reaching the small crystal carving Aleron kept of Aquilina. "Oh by the way, who is this?" Alicia looked at the face but didn't recognize it. "She looks pretty." She hesitated and second and then handed it over. "Is it someone…_close_ to you?"

Aleron took the crystal and quickly pocketed it. He waited a second, wondering if maybe Alicia had finally put two and two together. "… You could say that. She's my sister."

"Oh, okay." Alicia nodded, and then reached into the bag and pulled out a smaller bag of food cubes. As she handed them to Aleron though, she stopped. "Wait.

Aleron winced, it had finally come time and there was literally no escape.

"I know you're Aulus' son… John told me a few months ago." Alicia's jaw dropped as the connections in her mind were finally. "Aquilina… Aulus is her father too." Alicia's face hardened as Aleron looked away and popped a food cube into his mouth. It had a distinctly fruity taste. "That's why…"

"Yes." Aleron made it simple; An admission of a truth that was there for her to see for ages, but she never had. He said nothing else and moved over to the bench to sit. Alicia stared at him.

She bit the insides of her lips, and pumped her fists. She then rubbed her mouth before asking. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Aleron sat down and shrugged, swallowing the food cube. "Would it have mattered?"

"_Yes!_" Alicia snapped. "_Maybe_ I could have understood why you did what you did… She's your _family._" Alicia sighed and pulled at her hair softly. She sat down on the floor with her back to the bars of the square cell. "_Family_ is… _very_ important to me… Yes, I'd still hate her. Yes, I'd still resent you… but at least I'd _understand!"_

Aleron was surprised at Alicia's reaction. Family _was_ family… but her reaction seemed... _powerful._ "I-I didn't know. I thought it best to keep such things private."

Alicia bowed her head and rubbed her face. Aleron could feel a sense of shame coming from her, almost as if she was truly disappointed with herself. She said nothing else, but Aleron knew that she wasn't in the mood to talk.

A few minutes later, she silently got up and left. Aleron didn't ask her to stay.

* * *

"This better be good, Radek. I want to take Daedalus out soon and start drilling with the new information we got from the raid."

Radek pushed himself forward and was delighted that his arms no longer burnt from the exertion. When he woke up in the mornings and looked in the mirror, he could actually _see_ muscle. It was ironic that he'd had to be crippled to get in such great shape. "Trust me Colonel. You'll enjoy this." He didn't allow Marks to help him up the gentle slope of _Lucy's_ hallways, and led him into the quickly set up laboratory he'd set up. "_Lucy's_ orbit gives us a unique opportunity. One I wish to take prime advantage of."

"_Opportunity?_"

Radek nodded as he entered the lab, which to his surprise already had Rafaela and Sam inside admiring his latest creation. "See for yourself."

Marks stepped it, looked at the table in the center of the room and raised his eyebrows. He'd known research was being done on this for _ages._ But as far as he knew none of Earth's best scientists had ever been able to crack it. Maye the addition of the Travelers – or lack of regulation – had allowed Radek to do the unthinkable. "Is that…?"

"Yes… well… sort of. Ours doesn't use any phase shifting technology or mental connection."

Kevin gulped as he admired the object in question. He pulled a small face, and lacking the technical undersanding, decided to go with a comment rather than a question. "It looks like a robo-squid."

Sam off to the side snorted softly as she examined it. Apparently she agreed.

* * *

"Uhh, Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel looked up from his desk where he was going over Carson's report. "Yes, Laura?"

Laura nodded and motioned in. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Daniel nodded and waved her in. "Come on in, I'm just going over Carson's report. Thank god we might not have to do that again, he says the supplies will last a good while."

Laura sat down and sighed softly. "Yeah, well… that actually related to what I wanted to talk about."

Daniel furrowed his brow and leaned forward. "Uhh, okay. What's up?"

"I need to get off active duty. Like… any frontline stuff." Laura shrugged around a little. "You know, blowing stuff up, building heavy stuff. I can up the number of classes I can give and maybe even help Carson out with his inventory."

Daniel shifted his jaw around a bit, and drummed the desk with his fingers. "O-kay… Not that I'm going to say no, but why?"

Laura took in a deep breath, Daniel could see that she was obviously frustrated. "Well… I'm not going to be _able_ to do that kind of stuff for awhile. At least not without…_extra_ hazards."

"_Extra hazards?"_ Daniel was really confused now. "What are you talking about ? How's this related to the raid?"

Snorting softly, Laura replied with the barest edge of her voice cracking. "_Because I'm going to be taking those meds too."_

"O-kay…" Daniel heard what she said, but it took a few moments for it to register. When it finally clicked he shot up in his chair. "Oh.. Oh!" He looked at Laura, and then saw that she had scrunched in a bit, almost protectively. "You mean you… you're…?"

Laura nodded, and squeaked. "_Yep."_

Daniel gulped, this _wasn't_ the kind of thing that _ever_ happened at the SGC. "Uhhh…. I uhh…" seeing Laura's desperate face, Daniel decided to play it safe. "Mazel tov?"

Laura used her fist to cover her snort, but then spoke with an odd hesitance. "Believe me… I _never_ thought it'd go down like this…" Her jaw trembled, but then she took a deep sigh and rubbed her face. "It wasn't an accident. I… _we_ want this." Laura again chuckled and shook her head. "Never in my _dreams_ did I ever think I'd _want_ a kid with Chuck Campbell."

Daniel was speechless, ht tried to think of a question that she could possibly answer that he didn't already surmise. He couldn't think of one. "I assume it's not common knowledge?'

Laura shook her head."No…but I'm not ashamed. In fact." She laughed to herself again. "I uhh…I need another favor." She smiled and looked up at Daniel. "I need you to marry me." Seeing Daniel's snarky smile, she added. "_To Chuck!"_

Daniel let a low laugh out, and then sighed. This whole situation just got more and more complicated. "As if Prime Minister wasn't enough, no I'm an _actual_ minister." He got up out of his desk, and moved over to Laura. He helped her up and then nodded. "It'd be my _honor_ Ms. Cadman." He raised an eyebrow. "or should I say, Mrs. Campbell?"

Laura shook her head vehemently."_Oh no! _ _So_ not gonna happen."

* * *

Menalus knew those around him were worried. Rarely did they see a fully armored Achillus step on their planet with their armor engaged. But he knew that with his new blessing, the curse that had accompanied it would scare them too much. It would have been possible to hide it with the holy gifts of the progenitors, but that didn't matter.

What did was the damage done to these people. They were terrified. Telarus was on an unimportant world, the people living here simple and yet, they were devout. The Atlanteans had chosen their target well, _too_ well. That mutt Aleron must have been helping them. Menalus swore to spit on the graves of his makers.

Korpius followed beside him as the toured the damage to the civilian life ships - a limp noticeable from his fight with Aleron. It could be healed, but just like him, Korpius had begun to feel the taste of perfection from Menalus's teaching, soon more of the Olim would, and the last battle for the galaxy would come to pass.

The leader of the colony – Recylas – arrived to show Menalus something he said was possibly important. The newly inducted Proconsul followed the civilian Locagos, and made it to the storage bay of the craft. It was empty, foods, medicines, even general supplies were all gone. The Atlanteans hadn't planned on actually attacking them, but rather stealing specific supplies.

Menalus internally sighed. This colony had been lucky, only two deaths and both had been from secondary causes, a broken neck from a fall and a radiation exposure from having been in the engine room when the attack came. It could have been so much worse.

Not like the other two worlds that had come under attack. A full fourty dead at one, and another thirteen on the other.

Recylas pointed to the floor, where strange markings were painted out. Menalus felt where Recylas was and nodded. "What is this?"

"We've run it through the information the Atlanteans gave you and the Centaurians. We've been able to translate it. "Recylas blinked away some residual pain, and cleared his throat. "It literally says… 'The light that extinguished the Shade wuz here.'"

Korpius raised his left eyebrow and muttered. "I've heard that. One of the Atlanteans, the one who shattered a Shade nursery."

Menalus sighed softly and turned away. "They're mocking us." He motioned for Korpius to follow. "But not for long. Track them down as far as you can, if you find Atlantis, do nothing. Let them continue to simmer in hubris." Underneath the sheer trinium armor of his face, Menalus smiled softly. "It will be their undoing."

* * *

**End of episode 7**

** Teaser for Episode 8 – Medai's Shadow**

**Kevin Marks:** You know, I always wondered where you guys got these ships.

**Larrin:** What? You didn't honestly think we had the resources to build ships from scratch did you?"

**Kevin Marks:** Well… yeah.

**Larrin:** when you've got the Wraith chasing you down, you slap it together airtight and pray it holds in hyperspace. You build it as you're on the run.

**Kevin Marks:** Reminds me of doing homework on the way to class…

* * *

**Episode notes:** So there we have it, A Small Problem(s) and what a bunch of small problems eh?

While this episode is 'unbetaed', the basic story and even some scenes (especially Aleron's talk with Chuck) were spun together with my betas :D I quite like my new 'style' as it takes much less time to actually get to a 'finished' product while telling the same story. Yet at the same time, we don't lose those key moments that really say so much more than just the words. That and more spelling mistakes get through, but dammit, my Spell chex is broken and lets them slip somehow :P

As you can see, the chapter sizes are quite different. This is because i'm now writing whatever it takes to tell teh story without unnecessary padding. If it take 10k words, then it takes 10 k words, if it takes more, it takes more :P

I've been waiting for this episode for awhile. It hasn't been easy going stircrazy :p Does anyone know some kind of USB port into my brain so I can just download all the episodes to my computer and then post them? That'd be badass :D

My own most anticipated episodes for those who've seen the season teasers on Gateworld are... "Reluctant", "You can't go home again", "Prince of Atlantis", and "Penance". "Secure Storage" and "Unexpected Visitors" are sure to please as well :D

Many thanks to you all, you guys rock, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story :D


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